Hermetical casket



UNITED STATES Patented January 19, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

HERMETICAL CASKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 749,763, dated January 19, 1904. Application filed May 23, 1903. $eria1No. 158,499. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. WARNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, county of Fairlield, State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Hermetical Casket, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object to produce -hermetical caskets having all the advantages, so far as durability and imperviousness to air and other fluids is concerned, of solid-metal caskets and without the disadvantages of great weight and excessive cost.

It is ofcourse Well understood by those familiar with the disposal of dead bodies and undertaking generally that there is a great demand for hermetical caskets, which would be much greater were it not for the great weight of solid-metal caskets, as well as the necessarily great cost of such caskets if made of high-grade metal.

My present invention enables me to produce a casket which shall be perfectly impervious to air and other fluids, shall be no heavier than ordinary casketsin general use, shall be adapted to be made of any required design and to receive any desired ornamentation, and which shall have the appearance of a solidmetal casket, being completely covered inside and out with a coating of metal or alloy of any desired thickness and without seam or joint, except between cover and body, where a hermetical closure is made. Vith these and other objects in view the invention consists in a casket constructed in the manner hereinafter explained and then specifically pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

In the, accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a casket embodying the principle of the invention; Fig. 2, a transverse sectioncorresponding therewith, and Fig. 3 is a transverse section illustrating a slightly variant mode in which I have carried the principle of the invention into effect.

B denotes the bodyof my novel casket, and A the cover. The body consists of sides 12, cnds13, and bottom 14. The sides, ends, bottom, and cover each consist of a foundation made of a non-metallic material as, for example, any hard-setting plastic compositionor of compressed paper or wood, which I have indicated by a. The edgesof the bottom and cover are inclosed by facing-strips of sheet metal, which I have indicated by I). These facing-strips are preferably made U-shaped, as shown, although this is not essential, and are firmly and tightly secured to the foundation in any suitable manner, as by nails, screws, or cement. After the facing-strips are secured in place the whole part is covered with an electrodeposit of metal or alloy, which I have indicated by c. The foundations of the parts may be in a single piece or may consist of a number of pieces matched and cemented or otherwise rigidly secured together. The facing-strips may be of any metal or alloy, if preferred a relatively inexpensive metalor alloythat is to say, the facing-strips need not necessarily be made of the same metal or alloy as the electrodeposit. If preferred, the sides and ends may be finished independently that is, provided with facing-strips precisely like the bottom and coverand then secured together in any suitable manner, as by nails, screws, or dowel-pins, although this is not necessary; but, if preferred, the foundations of the sides and ends may be rigidly secured together by nails, screws, or dowel-pins, leaving the top and bottom open. Then the facing-strips b may be secured to the upper and lower edges, and then the sides and ends, forming a single piece, may be covered with the electrodeposit of metal, which is indicated by 0. After the sides and ends have been plated and attached together, it being immaterial whether they are plated before or after attaching them together, the bottom is secured thereto in any suitable manner, as bynails, screws, or dowelpins, solder being introduced at the joints in order to insure that the joints be perfectly air-tight. The entire body then receives another electrodeposit of metal, which I have indicated by (Z. It will be obvious that the electrodeposits (indicated by c and d) may both be .made as heavy as required, so that the body as a whole and the cover are for all practical purposes the same as if made of solid metal, the casket being, however, very much lighter and less expensive to make. The plating may of course be finished in any preferred manner. If desired, raised ornamentation of any character or design may be placed upon the sides, ends, and cover or any of them.

It makes no difference whatever so far as the principle of the invention is concerned by what special process the plating is applied. .1 preferably use the process which forms the subject of Letters Patent No. 67 8,148, granted to me July 9, 1901. Before plating by any process the foundations, if made of wood orany porous material, are thoroughly filled with any suitable filler, after which they are ready to receive the facing-strips and an electrodepositof any required thickness and of any preferred metal or alloy, as copper, brass, bronze, nickel, or silver.

If preferred, the electrodeposit, which I have indicated by 0, may be omitted on the sides, ends, and bottom, and said parts may be secured together without an electrodeposit. After securing them together the entire body receives the electrodeposit which 1 have indicated by (Z, as in Fig. 3. This vmode of making reduces the cost somewhat Having thus described my invention, 1 claim 1. A hermetical casket consisting of a body comprising sides, ends and bottom made of non-metallic material and provided with metal facing-strips, and the entire body then covered with an electrodeposit of metal and a cover likewise made of non-metallic material and provided with a metal facing-strip and then covered with an electrodeposit of metal.

2. A hermetical casket consisting of a body comprising side s, ends and bottom made of non-metallic material and provided with metal facing-strips and then covered with an electrodeposit of metal, and the body as a whole then covered with an additional electrodeposit of metal and a cover likewise made of non-metallic material and provided with a facingstrip of metal and then covered with an electrodeposit of metal.

3. A hermetical casket consisting of a body comprising sides, ends and" bottom made of non-metallic material and provided with U- shaped metal facing-strips and the entire body then covered with an electrodeposit of metal and a cover likewise made of non-metallic material and provided with a U-shaped metal facing-strip and then covered with an electrodeposit of metal.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM A. NARNER. Witnesses:

A. M. \Voosrmn, S. A'II-IERTON. 

